Getting Ready For The Holidays

Spring and Fall cleaning are perennial tasks that we all try to delay as much as possible because they tend to be time-consuming and overwhelming. Fall cleaning is usually delayed until we have to get ready for the holidays. After working with many clients who have been overwhelmed by these tasks, I have found the following tips to be very helpful in making this humongous task more controllable and less stressful: 1. Have an extra-large decorative basket/covered basket/storage bench in your living room where you can store pillows and folded throws that may be used at different times of the year. Having these items in a pleasing container makes it look like a ?planned? decorative item. Training yourself and everyone to put the items in this storage basket daily takes 21 days of constantly doing this task to change your ?everyday? behavior. Do it, it’s worth it! 2. It is best to keep all remote controls in once place so that there is no problem finding them when needed. Having cocktail tables with drawers simplifies this task. If your cocktail table doesn?t have drawers, use a decorative basket with a handle that is placed on the floor next to your favorite chair. If this is not your type of decorating item, try a wooden hinged box. These items are easy to find in any home decorating store. Again, putting the remote controls in the box is a habit that needs to be acquired.

3. Take a good look at all the surfaces and decorative items you have in a room. Does your room feel ?heavy?? Try this exercise: take three things off from each of the four sides of the room (whether tables, bookcases, cabinets, etc.); store these items in a box, label the box and store it; rearrange what is left. Step back and look at the room. It will feel lighter and more spacious. Before long, you won?t miss what you have stored.

4. When choosing decorative items to decorate with for the holidays, choose one extra-large item that can be placed in a central area and become a focal point. There is no need to change your entire room if you choose one decorative item as your focal point.

5. Use the everyday items you have used all year long but make them stand out for the holidays. How? Change the covers to your throw pillows with more appropriate holiday fabrics and colors like velvet, satin, silk in rust, red, emerald green or the color you have chosen for this year’s thematic decorating. Change table cloths, window treatments, placemats, runners, etc. to ?compliment? your color scheme. You don?t have to do this all in one day?just one thing a week until the holidays. Matching everything is boring?Don?t be afraid to show your ?Creative Self?.